Barn Door for JK factory hardtops

[jscherb]

Over in my Mahindra thread I posted about designing a tailgate pocket panel for the Mahindra Thar while in India (https://expeditionportal.com/forum/...nt-have-mahindra-of-india.222439/post-3097712). I did a pocket panel because MOLLE is not as well used in India as it is in the U.S. The OO craftsmen sewed a sample of the design and we installed it in my rental Thar:

We also did a second prototype with a wider pocket; this could hold an emergency triangle or a tow strap:

OO liked the design a lot and asked me about doing a similar panel for the Wrangler, so I sketched two designs. The first design was a simple pocket panel with 4 pockets:

Then, with some input from @shays4me, I did quick sketches of a more purpose-built panel, I'll call this concept the Tailgate Emergency Panel, designed to hold specific gear for an offroad or on-road emergency:

I'm not sure either of these concepts is worth doing. Will people say "I'd rather have MOLLE because I can configure it the way I want" or will people say "I like the convenience of the pre-planned emergency design" (for the emergency panel) or "The pockets look nicer than random MOLLE pouches and I'll make good use of them" (for the pocket panel).

Any input on this? I hesitate to turn the sketches over the the craftsmen at the OO factory because I don't want to waste their time doing a prototype that nobody would find useful so if you have any thoughts please share them - stick with MOLLE, pockets would be nice, or the emergency panel?

 

[jgaz]

Looks nice but neither design would be for me.
I use a tailgate table on my LJ but if I didn’t I would use a Molle panel.

Pockets on the front door panels? Love them!
On the tailgate, no.

 

[jscherb]

Looks nice but neither design would be for me.
I use a tailgate table on my LJ but if I didn’t I would use a Molle panel.

Pockets on the front door panels? Love them!
On the tailgate, no.

I told OO that I didn't have confidence that a tailgate pocket panel would be popular in the U.S. given the ubiquity of MOLLE options for the tailgate. I can see tailgate pockets working in India but not sure about it in the U.S., so I posted about it to see what the feedback might be.

 

[shays4me]

I told OO that I didn't have confidence that a tailgate pocket panel would be popular in the U.S. given the ubiquity of MOLLE options for the tailgate. I can see tailgate pockets working in India but not sure about it in the U.S., so I posted about it to see what the feedback might be.

The market is flooded with molle panels so I think producing another molle panel would be a waste of time. They also tend to sag when pouches are threaded on so I would prefer a panel with permanent pockets with some backbone to it. I'm not sure how many would sell though. I have a trailgater table on my camping Jeep, and they are extremely popular in the camping segment of the hobby.

 

[jscherb]

The market is flooded with molle panels so I think producing another molle panel would be a waste of time. They also tend to sag when pouches are threaded on so I would prefer a panel with permanent pockets with some backbone to it. I'm not sure how many would sell though. I have a trailgater table on my camping Jeep, and they are extremely popular in the camping segment of the hobby.

OO already makes a nice MOLLE panel, it was one of the first products they did when they started up and it's done well for them. They tell me it does really well when bundled with a set of three Grab & Go bags, which may suggest there could be room in the market for a well designed pocket panel. They have MOLLE panel versions for the JK, JL, TJ and now the new Bronco. I think it's a lot nicer than the other MOLLE panels on the market, it's handcrafted with real leather and very heavy cotton canvas. Quadratec has done a video featuring it:


And as you know, they also have a Cutlery Keeper to go with tailgate tables from several different companies, this is the Trailgater version on a friend's JKU/Ursa Minor:

OO tells me that product has done very well too.

I'm still trying to decide if there's a tailgate pocket panel design that would make sense. In the past couple of weeks I worked with the craftsmen at the OO factory to make the two prototypes for the Mahindra and I sketched an "emergency panel" for the JK and posted those sketches but I don't feel good enough about any of those ideas to make a Wrangler prototype yet.

 

[shays4me]

OO already makes a nice MOLLE panel, it was one of the first products they did when they started up and it's done well for them.

I wasn't aware of that. The one that Smittybilt markets/marketed was awful, just like everything else they offer. I generally refer to them as a name that replaces the m with an h.

 

[jscherb]

I had a lot of time to think on the flight back from New Delhi this past weekend, it's about a 15-hour non-stop flight from Delhi to NYC. One of the random thoughts that occurred to me during the flight was that I have never changed the cabin filters on the JKU. I haven't ever been really happy with the JKU HVAC system, it's never worked as well as the TJ's HVAC system. I figured that since the JKU now has 270,000 miles on it, maybe I should check the filters and if they're dirty enough maybe new ones will improve the HVAC performance. Here they are out of the Jeep.. yuk:

They're very easy to access and replace - they're behind the glovebox, so remove the glovebox and they can be seen. There's a door that holds them in place and swings up for access to the filters. This shows where they go, the filters were out when the photo was taken - they go behind the doors with the honeycomb pattern:

I'm driving to Quadratec for a meeting tomorrow so while I'm there I'll stop by their retail counter and pick up some new filters. They're less than $20 per pair (https://www.quadratec.com/p/crown-a...ter-11-17-jeep-wrangler-wrangler-unlimited-jk) so I think I'll replace them more often than the next 270,000 miles next time.

 

[AggieOE]

I had a lot of time to think on the flight back from New Delhi this past weekend, it's about a 15-hour non-stop flight from Delhi to NYC. One of the random thoughts that occurred to me during the flight was that I have never changed the cabin filters on the JKU. I haven't ever been really happy with the JKU HVAC system, it's never worked as well as the TJ's HVAC system. I figured that since the JKU now has 270,000 miles on it, maybe I should check the filters and if they're dirty enough maybe new ones will improve the HVAC performance. Here they are out of the Jeep.. yuk:

They're very easy to access and replace - they're behind the glovebox, so remove the glovebox and they can be seen. There's a door that holds them in place and swings up for access to the filters. This shows where they go, the filters were out when the photo was taken - they go behind the doors with the honeycomb pattern:

I'm driving to Quadratec for a meeting tomorrow so while I'm there I'll stop by their retail counter and pick up some new filters. They're less than $20 per pair (https://www.quadratec.com/p/crown-a...ter-11-17-jeep-wrangler-wrangler-unlimited-jk) so I think I'll replace them more often than the next 270,000 miles next time.

Did you notice much of a difference with them out/with new ones?

 

[jscherb]

Did you notice much of a difference with them out/with new ones?

With the filters out, there was increased airflow. I have not replaced the filters yet, the Quadratec meeting ran over and we had another commitment to get to so I didn't have time to visit the Quadratec retail counter after the meeting. I'll run with the filters out until I can get new ones.

 

[jscherb]

I posted in my Mahindra thread about Mahindra factory window screens that I saw installed in a Thar in New Delhi (https://expeditionportal.com/forum/...nt-have-mahindra-of-india.222439/post-3094757). They weren't expensive (about $12 US), so I picked up a pair while I was over there. My plan was to see how they worked and maybe use them as inspiration to make a Wrangler version - my better half is always wanting some protection from the sun on our long road trips.

I tried them on for size on the JKU door today. Of course I didn't expect them to fit, but I also didn't expect the Thar windows to be larger than the JK windows.

I unsewed the fabric to get at the wire that runs around the perimeter of the shade, resized/reshaped the wire to fit the JK window and sewed it back together again. I sized it so that the mirrors are clearly visible; the front of the window doesn't need to be shaded while driving anyway because anyone sitting in the seat is behind the area the screen covers.

They install in seconds and stay in place nicely when the windows are opened.


The shade is rigid as it has a steel rod all the way around the perimeter but it stores easily and conveniently in the JKU - this photo was taken looking back towards the main hoop of the roll bar, the shade slips between it and the ceiling, out of the way but firmly in place.

This is a proof of concept version made by modifying the Mahindra shade, there are a few small improvements I would make if I were building it from scratch but this will work fine on the road to prove the idea.

 

[jscherb]

With the filters out, there was increased airflow. I have not replaced the filters yet, the Quadratec meeting ran over and we had another commitment to get to so I didn't have time to visit the Quadratec retail counter after the meeting. I'll run with the filters out until I can get new ones.

I ordered a pair of filters on eBay yesterday, less than $10 for the pair. I'll report on airflow after I install them.

 

[ElDudo]

Did you notice much of a difference with them out/with new ones?

I did this last summer and noticed a difference. It wasn't hurricane force wind or anything, but here in the Phoenix summer heat, the extra air flow was very much appreciated. I'd be willing to do it every summer since the job is easy and the parts are realatively cheap.

 

[jscherb]

While at the OO factory last week I asked them to change the design of the headrest zipper strip. Previously it fit the JK and JL Wranglers plus a number of vehicles with similar headrest post spacing, like the new Bronco. But it didn't fit Cherokees, which have narrower spacing of the posts. I took one of the new zipper strips to the local Pick N Pull junkyard this morning and tried it with a Cool Bag cooler in an '04 WJ (left photo) and a '98 ZJ (right).

It's modifiable, so whatever the headrest post spacing, the new design can be adapted to it so now their Backpack, Zip & Go Bag and Cool Bag can be used in any vehicle with a removable headrest with posts.

 

[shays4me]

I had a lot of time to think on the flight back from New Delhi this past weekend, it's about a 15-hour non-stop flight from Delhi to NYC. One of the random thoughts that occurred to me during the flight was that I have never changed the cabin filters on the JKU. I haven't ever been really happy with the JKU HVAC system, it's never worked as well as the TJ's HVAC system. I figured that since the JKU now has 270,000 miles on it, maybe I should check the filters and if they're dirty enough maybe new ones will improve the HVAC performance. Here they are out of the Jeep.. yuk:

I can't believe your filters lasted as long as they did. Mine were awful at twenty thousand miles!

 

[jscherb]

I can't believe your filters lasted as long as they did. Mine were awful at twenty thousand miles!

Mine may have been dirty at 20k too although I bought it with 32,000 on the clock and never looked at them until last week. I maintain everything mechanical religiously but the filters never occurred to me until the flight back. I mentioned it to my friend who is the lead Jeep tech at the local dealership, he does all most of my mechanical work (I can do it but I'd rather spend my time on creative projects) and he said he always forgets about them too. New ones are on order so until they arrive I'll go filterless. I read somewhere that not all JKs came from the factory with filters installed, although they all do have a place to install filters. Not sure if that's true, I read it somewhere on the 'net.